How to Deal with Study Burnout
As students in this day and age, it’s quite common for us to juggle rigorous academic responsibilities and overwhelming extracurricular activities. As a result, we might feel burnt out. But what exactly is burnout?
Burnout is when you feel physically and mentally exhausted as a result of constantly lacking the energy required to fulfill the demands of your studying.
Burnout can be broken down into three parts:
Exhaustion is what causes you to feel tired all the time and unable to concentrate. You could also get sick or have trouble sleeping.
Cynicism or depersonalization is when you feel disconnected from those around you, e.g. your friends and family.
Inefficacy is a decrease in productivity, efficiency, or quality of your work.
How do you know if you have burnout?
Symptoms may vary, but they include:
- Being unable to absorb new information
- Intellectual exhaustion
- Decreasing academic performance and productivity
- Feeling like you need to prove yourself
- Making yourself work even more, even though you’re exhausted or being unwilling to study further
- Neglecting your needs
- Long term fatigue
- Showing disinterest in things you normally enjoy, e.g. hobbies or friends
- Denying that something’s wrong with you (may manifest in the form of aggression)
- Avoiding social interaction
- Feeling empty and depressed
What can I do to fix it?
Here are some short term solutions for dealing with burnout.
1. Take a power nap
Power naps are life changing. They help you recharge your energy and get you ready to start working again. They also improve learning, memory, creativity, alertness, and mood. I would recommend napping for 30 minutes at most, because anything more will lead to a longer sleep session.
Optional: drink coffee before your nap - something that takes a short while to consume like a shot of espresso - so that you’ll feel alert and revitalized afterwards!
2. Take a shower
A cold one will wake you up, but a warm one will calm you down. I suggest starting with warm water, then ending with cold water.
3. Exercise
Whether it’s playing soccer or doing yoga, the important thing is to get moving! Exercise releases endorphins or happy hormones that help you combat stress.
4. Run a quick errand
This will help take your mind off things while also getting something done! You’ll also end up walking, which is technically a form of exercise.
5. Call or visit a friend
Sometimes what we’re lacking is social interaction, and hanging out with a friend definitely helps. Whether it’s providing you with a distraction or giving emotional support, your friends are always there to help you. Plus, science has shown that being with friends reduces your cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
7. Surf the web
This requires A TON of discipline, but it’s definitely a game changer. Surfing the web is one of the most relaxing things you could do. I personally look for a good laugh during my study breaks, so I’d watch a comedy or scroll through memes to get those happy hormones up and running.
8. Do an activity you find interesting, e.g. a hobby
We all need happiness in our lives, and our hobbies are perhaps the best way to find that joy. You could sit down with a page turning adventure, or go outside and shoot hoops, or listen to a podcast, or even bullet journal, as long as you’re having a good time.
9. Listen to music
Music is one of the ways we gain energy, so I always make time for it during the day. However, you should choose the right music, because not all the music you love is going to make you feel energized. For me, it’s pop punk with hard hitting beats, thundering guitars, and really upbeat, enthusiastic vocals. Some of you might be energized by mellow music with dreamy vocals that make you feel like you’re floating in the clouds. If you choose the wrong music, you might just end up feeling sluggish and drained.
10. Get some fresh air
Your brain needs 20% of the oxygen in your body. Fresh air brings more oxygen to your brain so that you can think more clearly, feel less tired, and concentrate more easily.
How do I make sure I don’t get it in the future?
Avoiding study burnout in the long term has a lot to do with our study habits - as well as our daily habits. We need to make sure that our bodies and minds receive the things they need, and that we aren’t overworking them.
1. Study a little at a time
Break up your notes into smaller, more easily digestible pieces and learn a little at a time. This way, you’re not overwhelming your brain, and you have time to let that new knowledge settle in.
3. Get enough rest
I cannot stress enough that sleep is so important for you. It improves your cognitive functioning and also enhances your mood, making it less likely that you’ll get burnt out. Make sure to take power naps, too, if you feel like you need them.
You also really shouldn’t pull all-nighters. Sleep is also involved in cementing memories in your brain, so if you study a little before you sleep, you’re bound to remember more than if you studied a chapter during an all nighter.
4. Cycle your study environments
Your body and mind are bound to get tired from being in the same location for prolonged periods of time. The best way to fix that is to study in different places: at your desk, your backyard, the dining table, a cafe, a friend’s house, the library, etc.You should find a frequency that works for you. I like to switch it up every 2-3 days; some people change locations every week.
5. Eat well
As I’ve mentioned before, healthy foods with protein, vitamins, and fiber greatly improve your mood and your physical health. Proper nutrition will give your brain the power it needs to push through. Also make sure not to skip meals; honestly you’ll just end up feeling terrible afterwards.
6. Take frequent breaks
Let’s face it, we’re human, we’re bound to get tired from studying for a long time. Taking breaks enables our brains to digest the information we just learned in a pace that works for it. Breaks also help us focus on something other than studying, so that when we do get back to it, we’ll be ready to digest even more information.
7. Set realistic study goals
You’re gonna memorize all 500 pages of your biology textbook in one day? Good luck with that. Some of you might be compulsive studiers, but this kind of habit isn’t very good for your brain or your physical health. Studies have shown that excess studying can lead to lower productivity, fatigue, and - you guessed it - burnout. In the end, this will result in lower academic performance, perhaps even in the long run. So instead of trying to study so much in one sitting or one day, break up your material into chunks.
8. Maintain your social life
Wherever you lie on the introvert-extrovert spectrum, everyone needs social interaction once in a while. It keeps you sane and healthy. Go out with your friends, have a sleepover, or maybe even a study date.
9. Start the day right
What we do in the morning can significantly affect our mood for the rest of the day. Sometimes we don’t even feel like getting up in the morning, or doing anything that day. One thing you should do is create a morning routine you enjoy to jumpstart your day. Here are 8 Morning Habits for Productivity.
10. Think positive
When we’re feeling burnt out, it’s hard to not think negatively about everything. In reality, that just makes our condition worse. So think positively! Start small, like congratulating yourself for getting out of bed today, and then work your way up to bigger accomplishments, like finishing 2 chapters of your textbook.
11. Keep a stress diary
This is kind of a new concept for me, but it’s really great. How it works is that each day, you would write down all the things that made you stressed and how they made you stressed. This will help you identify the things you’re doing that’s causing your burnout, e.g.
- Too long study hours? take regular breaks
- Too much time in the same place? cycle your study environment
- Not eating properly? set aside time to eat healthy meals at least 2 times a day
- Not doing the things you love? schedule in time for that, e.g. during your long breaks
- Not getting enough human interaction? make a study group
- Too much negative thinking? adopt a positive mindset (you can always start small)
- Not getting enough sleep? fix your sleep schedule
And that’s all I have for you guys this time. Hope these tips will help you manage your stress and study burnout whenever you have them. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop an ask!
P.S. if any of you want to see the images in this post in better quality, click here (link to google drive)
